On Communication and Patriotism

I’ve been “blogging” for a few years now, sometimes intensely, sometimes lackadaisically, but always as I see in retrospect, with intent to both, learn from others and express ideas they seem unaware of. Some would call that teaching, but I am no teacher nor do I aspire to such a task. I’ve also been called a “contrarian” and in all honesty, that label, given to me by Frank Parker (https://franklparker.com/ – have a peek, there’s some cool stuff there!) does carry validity. I’m not rejecting it even if often what is thought of as merely contradictory is juxtapositions of ideas to create “food for thought” for those too comfortable in their traditional niche of clubbish patting on back.

Blogging is all about communication. For the most part people share blogs between comfort zones having discovered that attempting to communicate across storm-tossed seas of divergent ideas is difficult and, without a great deal of skill in diplomacy, basically impossible. When I engaged in social media like Facebook I encountered too many “Donald Trump” type Tweetering. Ignorant comments by ignorant people. I gave that medium up on short order.

WordPress has a different quality of correspondents. Here you can express your own thoughts and even if they stand at odds with those of another blogger there is space to express, allowance for different opinions, at least most of the time. I, who carry a heavy baggage of non-conformist ideas, certainly do appreciate this rubber-matted sparring room.

That said, I had an unfortunate dialogue with a blogger recently that got me labeled as an “attacker” of another person. Language problem? Perhaps, but I saw it differently. The issue was political and as with religion, most people exist on the cusp here, holding it together with barely restrained emotions. I try to approach it from a wider pathway but current political events are carried emotionally and very personally. Political people seem to take any and all non-agreeing discussions as personal attacks even when obviously stated as facts used to clarify an issue, i.e., obviously totally non-personal. The fact is, I’m not at all interested in personal aspects of individuals, at least not until they stand in my face and claim to be my leader or my master. Then I get very interested, very fast.

OK, let’s get down and dirty. Most political discussions in this neck of the woods will be about America, Donald Trump, Russia, Vladimir Putin, with peripherals of Syria, Iran, North Korea, Israel and the sleeping dragon, China and Xi Jinping. Americans have their own personal understanding and misunderstanding of these things, based on which “fake news” media or social media they get their information from. Few social medianites actually put their own boots on the ground to garner up-close personal information about the events they spout on about. In fact most of their “reporters” don’t either so in many cases the buffoon is right about his claims of fake news.

One thing for sure, with fresh air exceptions, is that “America” is declared a good place being vilified by crooked, dirty dealing bad hombres, particularly the current Satanic arch-enemy bogey man Putin. Putin’s crimes have reached to the very gates of heaven. But what has he done? Oh, he has dared intervene with force to stop American-backed regime change in Syria and has put enough fear in the hearts of Zionists and Sunni Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia to prevent the planned invasion of Iran as proxies for the USA war machine and oil lobby.

That however isn’t Putin’s worst crime. His worst crime is that he is accused of interfering in US elections. True or false? What difference can that make when the USA interferes in elections of sovereign countries all over the planet as a matter of course and when the die still won’t go their way, they concoct a reason for an invasion, or a regime change civil war. History, folks, repeating and repeating history.

But Americans, like all good patriots, need to deflect the sins of their nation, military, international banking and corporate crimes and impute them on others. They need enemies, preferably of course poorly armed and less technologically advanced so as to suffer the least amount of casualties while inflicting the maximum amount. Anyone remember the invasion of Grenada under Clown Reagan? Anyone know how big a country Grenada is? Anyone know what Grenada’s military strength consisted of? Imagine a pack of wolves, say about twenty adults in the pack, planning an attack upon a field mouse’s nest. Surprise, the wolf pack won that “war” and the win filled its newspapers with glowing headlines. Such heroism, it did them proud, that.

They also need a scapegoat for that imputation to work. Vladimir Putin, the front man responsible to “make Russia great again” in actual fact while the buffoon who claimed same for Amerikkka caused it to go in the opposite direction, just happens to be the right kind of guy to demonize. The propaganda has been rolling off the press full bore now for a couple of years at least and by now I’m sure if we looked closely, Putin has red skin, horns growing out of his forehead and a tail with a spearhead on the end. No? Put on your American Patriot Glasses or “APG’s issued by Homeland Security, then you’ll see it too. Don’t be of those left out of Amerikkka’s Vision.

What’s either sad, funny or amazing, is that most Americans are quite unaware they are participating in this war-mongering scenario, just as the German people were quite unaware at first that supporting Hitler would mean millions of them would die, after they slaughtered tens of millions of others, and all for naught. Well, not exactly, their elites, just as US-based elites are currently doing, would make zillions from the various killing fronts, hiding and laundering those massive profits which they would then use to create ‘the new world order’ under the American Hegemon. The German people didn’t know this, and neither do their current imitators, the American people. Why not? Because they prefer propaganda over history, that’s why not.

So I was attempting to explain this to a blogger who, I suspected, was aware of these things. But this person chose to ignore the big picture and focus on lambasting the White House buffoon and his family (deservedly so) and say nary a word about the 50% of total government income handed to the military to do with as it sees fit; to ignore the massive war crimes being committed with US weaponry and tactical aid against Yemen, Palestine, Syria, Lybia (yes, that’s still going on!), Iraq (yes, that too is still going on), in northern Africa (you name it, special forces will be in there destabilizing, creating chaos, blazing a path for multinational exploitation of remaining natural resources and enslavement of the work force), and of course Afghanistan (how old is that endless war again? Is it a war on terror, or on protecting the poppy fields? Hah!) I’m sure US military thought is looking at Pakistan also, and perhaps India… but these have nukes… Oh-oh… owie!

One could laugh at such military ineptness from the world’s most powerful military nation with the world’s greatest export of military arsenal, and the equal ineptness of its sidekicks in war crimes: Britain, France, Canada, and probably dribs and drabs of other benighted and equally stupid European Union members of the NATO coalition. War is always good business, win or lose, for those who ‘fund’ them and provide the guns and who really rules Western “democracies” huh?

This is where it’s at. So I call that blogger a hypocrite for deliberately ignoring the facts of the matter and choosing instead to demonize Vladimir Putin and turn it all around, making it look as if it’s Putin who is fighting all those wars and the honourable peace-maker in all of this is the USA. But before I made the call, this person had admitted to knowing these facts as well or better than I do. I then felt justified in calling a spade a spade. If you are stuffing your face with apple pie and I say that you are eating apple pie, I’m not attacking you, am I?

But I did not reckon with that mind-blinding sickness called patriotism. ‘My country, may she be always right, but my country right or wrong.’ Indeed, that is the last cry of the patriot. Truth, facts, reality, these must play second fiddle to my country’s right to be always “right” and all others who disagree, to be always wrong. And woe to them if I decide they are wrong: I have the might to punish such temerity and the propaganda machine to make it all seem so legitimate.

Communication, then, must bow to the superior patriotic mind.

The pen is not mightier than the sword at all. All the pen is allowed to do is promote and extol the sword or stick to making shopping lists.

Oh no, George, no names! They were not insulting at all, just “stuck” you see and went into defensive mode. I got into my “tough bitch” mode eventually. Nobody was “hurt” (or at least I hope not anyway) and I’m sorry for the entire episode but … dammit, how do you explain things to people who won’t hear anything except what they allow themselves to hear? If these believers don’t change, it doesn’t matter how much they natter (!) about DT… it becomes ass-covering and blame laying (lying?). I “see” the greater picture, the future and what I see is very ugly. Change begins with “me” changing and if that “me” insists that it isn’t so bad and its others that need to change… then the future I see is a guarantee. I just try to warn, but as I’ve often said, I’m living under the “Cassandra” curse.
Anyway, I used that episode to say something here I thought needed saying, even if it was more venting. I don’t know. Thanks for asking and commenting.

I truly enjoy our conversations. It would be nice if Bias Awareness training were mandatory here In the US. The level of self awareness and personal growth is astoundingly low. It takes a little effort. Nobody cares, they just want to be validated, they don’t care to be right.

You are correct. The level of America the Great propaganda I’ve lived through here in Canadian schools, politics and work place would choke a perfectly healthy Clydesdale. So it isn’t surprising that Americans have come this far and not caught onto the lies and the capitalism Ponzi scheme that has blinded them and robbed them blind also. The sad thing is, this is likely to continue and therefore, no change. If no change, then the pattern of exponential corruption and infrastructure implosion can only continue. “I” as an individual is all that stands between “us” and total disaster. I know how crazy that sounds; how “end times bullshit prophecy” it looks like, but if I said anything else I would be denying what I know. Just hope I am totally wrong, as I do. This is the kind of “right” no compassionate person could find any pleasure in, certainly. It’s like the climate change thing, if people ignore it, or call it conspiracy theory then nothing will be done to slow it down (even if, I think, it’s too late already).

I get this Sha’Tara, and all you’ve said makes sense, but you have to remember, not everyone sees outside the box and new concepts and ideas about things can close people off from any sort of shift to looking beyond the lies that they already believe as truths.
Be gentle… Humanity is like a naughty child.

“Humanity is like a naughty child.” Ah yes it is that but unfortunately much more. Naughty children do not run military dictatorships. They do not invade helpless countries and kill millions of other children just to get shinier toys. They do not have nuclear weapons. They do not drown, burn, strip mine, log, poison, the world for profit. We can make excuses ’til the cows come home, and so it is done, particularly by the politically correct crowd, but children still die by the tens of thousands on this world, from preventable causes which are set in motion by those being excused. I’m tired of making excuses. I’ve decided, as an empathetic being that the greater crime is that child being KILLED FOR PROFIT and not the pathetic hurt feelings I may cause to those who choose to wear the Approved Patriotic Glasses so they can deem themselves guiltless of the crimes they deliberately or ignorantly contribute to, and have for far too long. The problem of this man’s civilization is predatory capitalism and exponential greed and it has caused an exigent global condition. Solve that problem and you solve all the rest. Don’t solve that problem and you will never solve the rest. “The love of money is the root of all evil.” (1 Tim. 6 – modern translations have softened it to “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” but I like the original because it is more accurate.) Yes, Colette, I’m still in tough bitch mode -because children are starving to death in Yemen right now, and why? Because Americans, the number one suppliers of arms and tactical aid to Saudi Arabia, US ally and blatant aggressor, DON’T GIVE A SHIT! I say enough is enough. And if everybody leaves this blog because of my intransigent attitude towards wars for profit, it isn’t I who will be the loser.

Yes, I agree, the wholesale slaughter of innocent children is criminal. I rather feel the same way about animals (both wild and domesticated). I will not contribute to these abominations in any sentient form and hopefully, not unconsciously either. My stand on this is causing great upheaval in my relationship and social contacts. But this is what I mean. We cannot go forward without leaving behind a trail of those people who have not yet caught up with us. This saddens me greatly, and I continue to try to pull them along (but know in my heart of hearts that it is probably too late). When I used the term ‘naughty children,’ I think of the belligerent sort who are looking for attention. Any kind of admonishment is seen as ‘attention,’ and creates even more naughty behaviour in them. This is taken to extremes, to see how much, they can get away with. Usually, much deeper problems are present in these children and they become the antithesis of what we term as a good citizen. The collective consciousness seems to be encouraging this, which is exactly why we have to approach all with love and compassion. That requires engagement, and is the most diffict thing to do when all seems corrupt and self serving.

A fellow named Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) talked about these things…

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said today. – ‘Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood.’ – Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.”

Rant on, my dear friend, someday someone might listen. But today is not that day. And tomorrow does not look good for it either. (Calvin and Hobbes, slight deviation.)
But I understand the motivation. You can pussyfoot for only so long, but eventually you have to strike out, because it is the only response that allows the roiling steam to escape the pressure cooker that is your mind. To not do so is to cause an implosion, which is more likely to hurt you than anyone else. Been there. Done that. Didn’t like the result!
But what else can you do. Patriotism is drilled into American children from a very early age. Before they even figure out they are people, they are already died-in-the-wool Americans. Their ego-beings are set for life, and only the very strongest among them can bypass those egos to find the spirituality that joins all living things. To paraphrase a recent post by Infinity Explorer, “Spirit is not American.”
So, I promise to back you up 99.9% should the attacker return, or a new one take his place. This is no longer a question of American patriotism, this is too rapidly becoming a matter of life and extinction. And without life, as I am prone to repeat as often as I can… Without life, there is absolutely nothing!!!!!

Thanks for that rawgod. But please let me qualify a bit. There was no attacker, I was the one who did say, “hypocrite” to the other because of their demonizing of Putin. I’m not a Putin lover, nor hater, I know very little about the man actually, but imputing one’s sins onto a scapegoat created by propaganda is hypocrisy to me. But the major problem in this exchange is simply children dying, sacrificed to Moloch or Mammon. These are innocent babies, for C****t sake! Where’s the heart in all of this? In my visions, I have often visited a world called ‘Altaria’ and learned a bit of how they function there. One of the lessons I came back with was on my question about violence and death by violence. My guide was appalled at my question. ‘There is no such thing here. I can tell you that if one child on this world died of some preventable cause, it would be a crime of unimaginable proportion. The entire world would come to a standstill and mourning by all of us on Altaria would be sorrowful, sincerely and deeply felt . Then the first order of business for all of us would be to study this crime and correct the situation so it would never happen again. We value life above everything else here, Tara.’ (That being one of the names I use when I travel as it means Earth.) So this is now my measuring rod, rawgod. I know such a life affirming condition is possible and it is both a blessing as I contemplate my future and it is a curse of abysmal depth when I contemplate the present and the world I must reside upon.

Attacker can = hypocrite. In the English language words are often used to mean their close relatives, and vice versa. I am surprised the word “crime” is known on Altaria, or did your guide draw it out of your mind? No matter, the offer was sincere, if you should ever need it.

Thanks again for commenting further, rawgod. Quote: “I am surprised the word “crime” is known on Altaria, or did your guide draw it out of your mind?” A very intuitive question. There is, so I have been taught (and have made use of) an innate “universal language” that supersedes and encompasses all languages, including those used by AI and combined Android-Human hybrids. When we are speaking with “aliens” we use what I call ‘thought forms’ which are designed to fit into the universal translator and can be correctly understood by whomever is receiving these bursts of information. I don’t know how it works, but obviously we of Earth had such a language once upon a time, making my argument here using a much debated anecdote in the Bible called the Tower of Babel (some jokingly refer to it as the Tower of Babble) being built in what would become Babylon. Whatever Earthians were up to there, it upset “the gods” and these “Elohims” came down to see and comment. The gist of that comment is, “If we allow them to continue with this project nothing they put their minds to will be denied them.” And so, in fear of Earthians’ developing technology, for you can be sure they weren’t so stupid as to think these could actually build a standing tower that would reach ‘the heavens’, and what the Elohim were looking at was the construction of a starship enterprise (pun intended). The Earthians meant to go into space as had done their creators, the Anunnaki, and confront them on their home planet, Nibiru. OK, that’s my interpolation within that little window into our shaded past. The Elohim “confused” man’s language there, on the plain of Shinar, and the people wandered away from each other as they could no longer understand one another and conflict quickly arose. Earthians were mind-manipulated by these gods or Elohims. Their ability to use the universal language was neutralized, and the rest is our sad and warring history without space faring. Are they still watching? Are they still preventing us from launching manned space ships to the stars, and are they blockading this world so no alien can openly and boldly come here to meet and greet? Yes, of course they are. Are we still without our original ability to communicate through our universal language? Yes we are. Can we do something about it? Yes we can but we don’t want to believe any of this because the programming says not to believe it, therefore the ‘cure’ remains outside possibilities for the time being. What is that cure? That’s a very long story I have hinted at here and there in my posts…
Quote: “No matter, the offer was sincere, if you should ever need it.” I thank you sincerely for that offer. I shall remember it.

That language is telepathy. It has no words, only forms and feelings. The Tower of Babel parable is the history of the end of general telepathy being used on earth. I am not going to even pretend to suggest why telepathy had to end, but it did. One day it will be regained, but not in the time of Trump, lol.

I used to use it quite regularly, until one day it became too intense. I could only do it with certain people, but that does not matter now. I clamped it shut that day, and while I can still occasionally sense what others are thinking, it is totally random now. I cannot use it with purpose anymore.

“Un”-naturally the controlling “Matrix” would have a counter to it for those who could still access it and I think that fake one comes out in “tongues” as in the Pentecostal churches, and also in some New Age meditations that start with the word, ‘Om’. Our programming is highly advanced AI stuff and it is designed to mimick and contradict all truth. Religions are all based on this programming. In present circumstances it’s probably better to let the truth lie quiet for it will always be misunderstood and it can set the mobs against you. Better to speak the vocal bastardized language(s) for the time being. Besides, you can’t blog with it, can you? 🙂

Ah, thanks for commenting and for that Emerson quote and reminder. I used to know that quote quite well in other involvements in quite unpopular politics and social activities. I would take comfort in it after hot and steamy clashes with “believers.” Speak the truth and you will certainly be “misunderstood” not because of your use of language but because what you are exposing runs counter to the comfort zone created by the programming and propaganda.

Thanks for the shout out! You are spot on with your analysis of geopolitics but must never forget that Russia has oil and gas. Much as I desire the cessation of fossil fuel burning, I yearn for the day when the oil is all used up. If we have obliterated humanity by then, maybe there will no longer be the motivation for wars and sculduggery in general.

Thank you for that, Frank. When it comes to fossil fuels (or whatever crude oil comes from) we took the wrong turn at Albuquerque long ago and we’re in a bind. Still, if it wasn’t for corporate greed it isn’t something that cannot be solved – we don’t need to wait for catastrophe to get serious about changing our driving habit. I can’t say too much, my service vehicle is a 3/4 ton GMC Savana van… and my excuse is, there is nothing else out there that can do what this thing must do for my job, especially pulling a trailer for my landscape work. Maybe I’m the hypocrite…

Contrarian is a wonderful word. Teacher you are not. Nor preacher. Part story teller, part your blend of moralist visionary, part muckraker, part yellow journalist part colander helmet wearing conspiracy theorist. Which all make for an interesting, intelligent, occasionally (far) left field blog post. Like a bag of candy you can’t see inside of. All you can do is open it and hope it isn’t some hollow mint chocolate full of raspberry jelly and coconut you’ll spit out in the sink. ;0

I was sorting through my endless emails and re-read your comment here. I laughed my head off. No one’s ever pinned me to the wall as neatly as you just did. The funny part is, it didn’t hurt at all, so there goes another theory: the truth does not always hurt. Now where’s my Pullet Surprize?

Hypocrite is a peculiar word when you think about it. Does it mean, for example, someone who proclaims one thing, perhaps in one arena of discourse or activity, and then behaves against that claim in some adjacent or maybe further away arena? And does it matter whether the person is aware of this inconsistency? Or not? Must it be willful, or can it be inadvertant? On top of this there are degrees! The world and life are complicated, and getting more so. Suppose the ‘behaving against what was proclaimed’ is of degree X? Or ten times X? Or suppose the entire analysis is disagreed with?

An entity such as the U.S., to, is spectacularly complicated and varied. Any entity so sprawling is obviously inherently ‘hypocritical’ simply by nature. To not contain contradictions would be to be inauthentically monolithic in today’s reality — something which itself ethically suspect.

So, what to do in the agora of opinions?

I think to stay away from proclamations of hypocrisy, for one thing. In an entity as enormous as the U.S. or Russia, you can easily find inconsistencies, lies, coverups, shortcomings, and horrendous deceptions. Is there some numeric way of comparing degrees of untruthfulness? I doubt it. If someone points out a corresponding shortcoming in response to us doing so initially, froma contrasting political or philosophical pole, it does not make them biased. They might be responding to what is perceived, rhetorically, as initially bias or lack of balance. And they would likely have reason.

Another possible measure to take is to keep away from generalized blanket statements, in view of the inherent complexity within the fabric of everything. For example, rawgod says up above that Americans are indoctrinated at an early age to be reflexively patriotic. This is not a true statement. I was born and spent my first half century in the U.S. and know that things are far more individualized and complicated than that. Generalizations are always the enemy of communication and comprehension. You must be able to hold the vast slew of inherent complications in mind when surveying a topic.

I have been in the U.S. and Russia, and nowadays I live in Canada. In Quebec which is again quite different from say, Ontario. I have lived and worked in China and Mexico. All places have much beauty and struggle with much in the way of ethical corruption and shortcomings.

The right spiritual stance for these times, when the web is exacerbating the clash of individuals and culture pockets at a rate never before imaginable, is to learn to house contradictions within oneself, without falling down. It is the meditation for this moment in time. It is forgiveness, at a conceptual level.

Thanks for commenting, Robert. You’ve made this a very difficult comment to reply to, once again because of semantics (???) The initial “problem” was a blogger demonizing V. Putin, as you read. This is something Americans have been guilty of doing perhaps throughout the history of that nation, from native Americans, through to Mexicans, freed slaves, European immigrants, then of course the leaders of the Axis powers, then the subsequent waves of dispossessed European immigrants post war(yours truly one of those, although thankfully to Canada, not the US), then Asians, particularly Koreans and Vietnamese, then Latin American countries that sought to escape US domination and exploitation, then Muslims… need I go on?
When you demonize someone it is always to hide your own ‘sins’ – fact. You need to create a scapegoat who is the embodiment of evil to make yourself look better and feel better. It began with “God” inventing “Satan,” so not a new thing.
OK it was a generic “attack” against American hypocrisy on my part, nothing new there, but it was taken (deliberately to turn the tables) as a personal attack. By doing so, I become, not the purveyor of bad news, but someone intent on harming another’s good character. Again, I’m used to that.
Your response to this, Robert, is to try to pour oil over the troubled waters. The probem is, did you really consider the reason behind the storm? Did I not make it clear enough? I’ll try again, and try to be brief.
I attacked America’s hypocrisy in its various unprovoked and undeclared wars and pointed to the fact that it is US armaments and support that allow Saudi Arabia to slaughter and starve Yemenis. Guilt has been established but because there is no longer any real court of international justice to deal with war crimes, the US has been consistently doing this and getting away with it. My anger isn’t at individual Americans unless they defend their country’s war crimes currently in the Middle East. Here’s a quote for you to consider – and the source of the storm:
“We are horrified that 85,000 children in Yemen may have died because of extreme hunger since the war began,” said Tamer Kirolos, country director in Yemen for the non-profit aid organization, Save the Children. “For every child killed by bombs and bullets, dozens are starving to death and it’s entirely preventable.”
A nation, in fact a civilization, that allows, supports, profits from such crimes does not deserve to exist. A nation and civilization is made up of individuals who willy-nilly go along with this and when push comes to shove, will defend their right to commit war crimes and murder tens of thousands OF CHILDREN. For profit. For power. For control of resources that belong to others. And that is a solid trade mark of the American hegemon. There is no room for “political correctness” here, only for righteous indignation. When an individual attempts to cover up these crimes by imputing them to others, or another, knowing full well who is doing it, that is hypocrisy in my book, and in the dictionary.
Question for you: where is your empathy for these innocent victims? Do you care at all? Your comment leaves those questions unanswered and that was the subject of my post, more than the disagreement. Children are being slaughtered by the tens of thousands by arms and financial support from your country, Robert. Does that not bother you a bit? A democracy, as claimed for the US is government of the people, by the people, for the people. The problem with that is, it makes all Americans de facto guilty along with Uncle Sam for all of America’s past and present and on-going WAR CRIMES. I don’t know how that guilt will be assuaged but I do know that it will be.

Hi Sha’Tara. I do not see semantics as much of an issue in the present discussion, no. What I see is incorrect assumptions and or judgements on your part as to what I am trying to say and why I am saying it.

I did not read your post as primarily another of your occasional diatribes against U.S. cultural hegemony in the world — as you have claimed. I read it as a post about contradictions inherent in political web discussions — as evidenced by your title: On communication and patriotism. Also, I was not responding primarily to the post per se, rather to the commentaries. (This is legal, right? 🙂 Explicitly, near the end of the commentaries you muse about whether or not you bear some of your own hypocrisy, which you charged some other interlocutor with. This is what interested me, this human element, devoid of political coloration. The reason it interests me is because it is a higher relam of discourse, spiritually, and therefore points the way better to understanding between diagreeing polemicists.

But the political opinions seem so hot that it has pulled you right back into that discussion which does not really interest me much. As I tried to point out in the past and now, it is possible, and more than possible, entirely valid, to feel aggrieved and outraged and argue so about many many sides in global conflicts or business/wealth conflicts or religion conflicts. So if you like to call out U.S. activity and policy, okay, fine. The person whom you argued with who called out Putin or Russia is just as valid within his view of things. And we could many many other aggravated points of view from other vantage points in the world.

I see also you would wish to lay blame now on everyday U.S. citizens as well. On the grounds that the U.S. is, or is supposed to be, a democracy. Does this reasoning eliminate culpability from Russian citizens under Puting because their “democracy” is more obviously a sham than that of the U.S. at the moment? This willingness to blame, when the heat gets to you in discussions, is not something I find particularly helpful. People, individuals, not countries, must wake up at their own pace according to their own karma and situations. That truth requires understanding, compassion, and forgiveness to see.

Of course I have empathy for people, including children, who are dead, maimed, impoverished, uneducated, homeless, on and on, due to the actions of U.S. policies or even quixotic current leadership. Must I announce it continuously in order to be fairly considered a person who discusses things on your blog? And can I not alsdo harbor the same disgust when non-U.S. actors are responsible for similar atrocities?

But most of all… am I not allowed to direct attention and discussion towards a particular human issue — like hypocrisy — when it seems called for and brought up during a blog discussion? That was the point of my post, not some defense of America. I would feel much more listened to if you could understand this. Especially since you opened the line of inquiry with your questions about it in your commentary section.

I offered a meditation, if you will, about hypocrisy. And tried to do it in a general way. That’s all.

Properly responded, Robert. I fully accept your “upbraiding” as justified, as well as accept your meditation now that I understand better your viewpoint. I am not going to make excuses for my harsh words – there are none, except to say that I reach that place where the pain becomes unbearable; where I would rather be dead then have to be aware of the horrors and atrocities of war and oppression and I want to use words to “make people see” how they are indeed culpable, in that individual degree, for what their country does, as they are responsible, again within that individual degree, for electing the leaders they may love or abhor subsequently. I know it can probably never become black and white under current systems of man’s civilization but I understand that changes, and by that I mean REAL changes that cannot be stopped by atavism, must come from the heart, mind, soul, of every individual. Such changes can never come about through collective force, or will of consensus or mob.
You say, and quote: ” People, individuals, not countries, must wake up at their own pace according to their own karma and situations. That truth requires understanding, compassion, and forgiveness to see.” I see now that I have to accept that, it is truth. !Thank you!

well, Sha’Tara. You certain offer an inspiring example. It is a testimony to your belief structure that you can graciously shift gears so. I truly receive something positive from that.

Hope you don’t really see it as an upbraiding. I am just holding the ground for some aspect or point of view which I see as missing (in various circumstances). And yes… totally totally understandable what drives your frustration and outrage. We really see things very much eye-to-eye, I find.

Reply 2: re: upbraiding. I chose that word as a reminder that I (maybe all of us) need upbraiding. It’s a test of real (working) humility. If I can accept it, then I’m going in the direction I plan to go. If I cannot, pride is a serious issue and needs to be dealt with.

Thanks for commenting, Robert. You’ve made this a very difficult comment to reply to, once again because of semantics (???) The initial “problem” was a blogger demonizing V. Putin, as you read. This is something Americans have been guilty of doing perhaps throughout the history of that nation, from native Americans, through to Mexicans, freed slaves, European immigrants, then of course the leaders of the Axis powers, then the subsequent waves of dispossessed European immigrants post war(yours truly one of those, although thankfully to Canada, not the US), then Asians, particularly Koreans and Vietnamese, then Latin American countries that sought to escape US domination and exploitation, then Muslims… need I go on?
When you demonize someone it is always to hide your own ‘sins’ – fact. You need to create a scapegoat who is the embodiment of evil to make yourself look better and feel better. It began with “God” inventing “Satan,” so not a new thing.
OK it was a generic “attack” against American hypocrisy on my part, nothing new there, but it was taken (deliberately to turn the tables) as a personal attack. By doing so, I become, not the purveyor of bad news, but someone intent on harming another’s good character. Again, I’m used to that.
Your response to this, Robert, is to try to pour oil over the troubled waters. The probem is, did you really consider the reason behind the storm? Did I not make it clear enough? I’ll try again, and try to be brief.
I attacked America’s hypocrisy in its various unprovoked and undeclared wars and pointed to the fact that it is US armaments and support that allow Saudi Arabia to slaughter and starve Yemenis. Guilt has been established but because there is no longer any real court of international justice to deal with war crimes, the US has been consistently doing this and getting away with it. My anger isn’t at individual Americans unless they defend their country’s war crimes currently in the Middle East. Here’s a quote for you to consider – and the source of the storm:
“We are horrified that 85,000 children in Yemen may have died because of extreme hunger since the war began,” said Tamer Kirolos, country director in Yemen for the non-profit aid organization, Save the Children. “For every child killed by bombs and bullets, dozens are starving to death and it’s entirely preventable.”
A nation, in fact a civilization, that allows, supports, profits from such crimes does not deserve to exist. A nation and civilization is made up of individuals who willy-nilly go along with this and when push comes to shove, will defend their right to commit war crimes and murder tens of thousands OF CHILDREN. For profit. For power. For control of resources that belong to others. And that is a solid trade mark of the American hegemon. There is no room for “political correctness” here, only for righteous indignation. When an individual attempts to cover up these crimes by imputing them to others, or another, knowing full well who is doing it, that is hypocrisy in my book, and in the dictionary.
Question for you: where is your empathy for these innocent victims? Do you care at all? Your comment leaves those questions unanswered and that was the subject of my post, more than the disagreement. Children are being slaughtered by the tens of thousands by arms, sanctions and financial support from your country, Robert. Does that not bother you a bit? A democracy, as claimed for the US is government of the people, by the people, for the people. The problem with that is, it makes all Americans de facto guilty along with Uncle Sam for all of America’s past and present and on-going WAR CRIMES. I don’t know what sort of retributive justice is going to be imposed for these crimes, neither from whom, nor how, but I know that there will be.

I don’t know why that comment of mine posted twice as usually WordPress warns: “You’ve already said that.” I think it must have been caused by the Android cell phone. I must also apologize for saying “your country” when speaking of America when you clearly stated you live in Canada now. That would make it “our country” as Canada is involved in these crimes too, though not something I support. Wondering how you feel about Canada supporting American Hegemonic resource wars?